1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to hinges, and more particularly to a wide angled hinge which, when used in a container, enables a cover of the container to be opened and maintained in a wide variety of angles with respect to a container body of the container.
2. Description of Related Arts
Nowadays, various kinds of container are used for a variety of purposes. For example, they are used for temporary storage, displaying the objects which are stored in the containers, protecting the objects stored in the containers from being touched or accessed by unauthorized persons, and the likes.
Whatever their functions, a conventional container usually comprises a container body, a cover, and a hinge mounted on the container body and the container cover for connecting the container body and the container cover in a pivotally movable manner.
The container body comprises a bottom and a plurality of container walls upwardly and peripherally extended therefrom to define a storage cavity within the bottom and the container walls. The container cover, as it name implies, is usually shaped and sized to fittedly cover the storage cavity of the container body so as to physically isolate the objects stored in the storage cavity from outside. The hinge usually comprises first and second connecting members securely connected to respective outer sides of the container body and the container cover. The first and the second connecting members are pivotally connected with each other in such a manner that they are capable of pivotally of moving at a predetermined range with respect to each other so as to pivotally open and close the container cover with respect to the container body. The extent to which the container cover is opened with respect to the container body depends on the range of lateral pivotal movement of the first and the second connecting members.
Ostensible disadvantages can be derived from such conventional containers and their conventional hinging arrangements between the container cover and the container body. First, it is justifiable to say that conventional containers lack flexibility, although in some circumstances, such flexibility plays minimal role. As a matter of fact, almost all conventional containers only allow their respective cover to be either fully opened or closed, with no self-induced mechanism in maintaining them in between. And, very often, in the fully opened position, the container cover is usually pivotally moved to an extent that makes an inclination 180xc2x0 or more with horizontal to induce unsatisfactory or undesirable degree of opening of the container.
If the container was only intended to store some objects and no more, it would have no problem. However, it will not be the case if the container is used, for example, for displaying purpose. In such circumstances, the container cover may need to be opened partially and therefore maintained in an elevated position between the fully opened position and the fully closed position. It is impossible until some external measures, such as adding a support, are introduced.
Thus, some xe2x80x98improvedxe2x80x99 containers have really been developed. Besides the elements as described in the above mentioned conventional container, it further comprises a pair of supporting frames attached on the container body and operatively connected with the container cover in such a manner that they are capable of selectively supporting the container cover in an elevated position between the fully opened position and the fully closed position. Ironically, with the induction of the supporting frames, many of the container covers are restricted by them in the sense that they can only be opened to be perpendicular to the horizontal. Thus, in reality, their ability of maintaining in an elevated position is traded against a reduction in their range of opening.
Secondly, in conjunction with the inflexibility that conventional containers possess, in some circumstances, it would be inconvenient even for the user of the container to place and to take the objects in and away the container. This is especially true in case of a container which is specifically designed for storing watch in which a watch holder is usually utilized to support the watch. The problem here does not lie with the watch holder, it may be that the watch which is inconvenient, if not difficult, to be securely placed into the container, and specifically, on the watch holder, because the container is not optimally, or adequately opened.
Actually, most conventional jewelry box can only allow its cover to be opened perpendicularly with the horizontal in order to prevent the whole box, when fully opened, from flipping over because of unbalanced weights between the container body and the container cover. However, it is this unpleasant feature which makes the conventional jewelry box unsatisfactory. Sometimes, the jewelry stored inside the box may need to be shown to other people, and one may find that he/she is unable to do so because the box cannot to fully be opened to the extent that people in the vicinity of the box can clearly see the jewelry, this is especially true for those standing at the back or even at two sides of the jewelry box.
Thirdly, if the container, as mentioned above, was aimed for displaying purpose, such as that of a jewelry container, it would be unpleasant for the hinge to be exposed on the outer side of the container. Furthermore, the fact that the conventional hinges are almost completely made of metal means that may cause potential danger to other peoples. In some circumstances, the sharp edges of the hinge exposed outside the container may scratch and hurt somebody.
Finally, almost most conventional containers merely allow their covers to be opened by pivotally rotating about a top edge of the container body where the hinges are attached. Accordingly, they are generally xe2x80x98inseparablexe2x80x99 from the container body in the sense that an edge of the container cover is pivotally connected with the top edge of the container body. In some circumstances, this feature possesses considerable inconvenience for the user.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a wide angled hinge for a container which allows a cover of the container to be opened and kept at a wide variety of angles without flipping over because of weights"" unbalance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wide angled hinge for a container wherein the hinge is arranged to be received in the container so that when the container cover of the container is closed, the hinge will not be exposed to outside of the container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wide angled hinge for a container which neither involves any complicated mechanical structures nor alter the original structure of the container so as to minimize the manufacturing and related costs of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wide angled hinge for a container which is capable of facilitating optimal opening of the container so as to meet differing requirements in different circumstances.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container comprising a wide angled hinge which facilitates a cover of the container to be pivotally opened and kept at a variety of predetermined positions so as to maximize the flexibility of the container.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a container, comprising:
a container body which comprises a base and a plurality of side walls peripherally and upwardly extended from said base to define a storage cavity surrounded by said side walls, wherein one of said side walls has one or more sliding slots for communicating said storage cavity and outside of said container;
a container cover adapted to selectively enclose said storage cavity; and
one or more wide angled hinges for connecting the container cover with the container body to selectively cover the container body, wherein each of the wide angled hinges comprises:
a primary jointing frame, comprising:
a base member which has a securing portion mounted on said base of said container body and a free end portion longitudinally extended from the securing portion; and
a primary connecting member, which has a lower supporting portion pivotally connected to the free end portion of the base member and an upper end portion securely mounted on a bottom surface of the container cover; and
a secondary jointing frame, comprising:
a hinging member which has a pivotal portion pivotally connected with said securing portion of said base member and a hinging end longitudinally extended from the pivotal portion; and
a secondary connecting member, which has a first coupling end pivotally connected with the hinging end of the hinging member, and a second coupling end operatively connected with the upper end portion of the primary connecting member in such a manner that the primary connecting member and the secondary connecting member are capable of sliding through the respective sliding slot of the side wall so as to pivotally and selectively operate the container cover with respect to the container body for opening or closing the container.